Open Letter

Dear Ploch's Farm,
You looked kind of scary the day I took this picture, but I know you aren't really. You have cool greenhouses and big fields which are probably teeming with plantlife. All this rain must be good for you. Whenever you are ready to put forth your bounty, I will be across the street, waiting for you.
Love,
~Ardie

Crazy Sunset

Last night it rained for a little while, and then there was a very red sunset. It's all over the internet, apparently. So here is my contribution. It just seemed the whole world was covered in red film. I love sunset pictures anyway. :)

Oatmeal Bars

The other day I made Oatmeal Bars from Sugar Plum, a food blog I frequent.  She has them as having banana and almonds, but having neither in the house, mine are just oatmeal.  They do taste good, but as if they are missing something.  That's typical for me...I always leave things out of recipes rather than just go to the store and buy them.  

Anyhoo, I recommend her site for lots of yummy dessert ideas.  AFTER reading mine, of course ;).

Kickin' it Old Skool

Check out the new/old release from Pepsi:


Throwback! Both sodas are made with natural sugar, as they were in the 60s-70s, instead of high-fructose corn syrup like they are now. And the packaging is neat, all retro-style. You can read more here if you want. But it's only around for a limited time, and that limited time began about two months ago. Since the first week, we have not found these anywhere, despite hearing rumors that Pepsi Co is making more (even then we only found cans, no bottles). I'm not trying to advertise for Pepsi or anything; in fact, I don't even drink much soda (I'd much rather waste the calories on candy or something equally empty). But TG was super stoked for these, and I was pretty intringued as well. Fortunately Target had it AND it was on SALE (maybe that's why it tasted so good)!  The drink itself is pretty good, almost tastes less carbonated than regular soda-- but that's ok, it's the same reason I like Coke in glass bottles better. So now here we are with no more Throwback, unless Pepsi decides to rerun it. Ever. 

Keep your eyes peeled, they usually mix Throwback in with the regular soda, so you have to look at the packaging to make sure you got the right one. And if you do....mmmm enjoy it, cuz its' time is limited!

We were on TV!

Baltimore

For our yearly trip to see the Orioles at Camden Yards, we decided to see them play the Mets. We are from New Jersey, but not Mets fans, and I am an Orioles fan anyway.

We got there early afternoon, so after checking into the hotel (super nice Raddison Lord Baltimore), we went to the Inner Harbor to eat. Check this out, a restaurant that serves pretzels instead of bread! Since it was a weekday, the harbor was pretty empty, and there were many Mets fans who also made the trip south (including all the other patrons of the restaurant, as you can see below).


We eventually made our way to the stadium, and took some time to watch the Mets' batting practice (a ball came right at me, and bounced about a foot away...you don't realize, it's REALLY scary watching a line drive get bigger and bigger as it comes at you). This lady in orange and white was doing all the same stretches as the pitcher as he warmed up. We have actually seen her on TV when the O's played the Yankees...she followed his every move.





By the 9th inning, it was looking pretty bad for our O's, but the kids in front of us were getting really into it, which got us more involved, and we donned our Rally Caps. They actually scored a couple runs, and had bases loaded for a while, but it was not enough to win the game. Oh well. The Oriole bird paid a visit to our section too, he's so cute! Mets fans kept hugging him and getting their Met-sy fan hands all over him. Psh!

We ended the night at a nice bar where they had lots of unusual-style beers, made right there on premises ("Cask ales" it said -- I am SO informed). On our way out of the city the next morning, it was raining, but we drove past Charm City Cakes, of "Ace of Cakes" fame. It's a very nice building in a very nondescript neighborhood (read: shabby).

Here is when That Guy said "Maybe I'll take the picture with the window down instead"

The final stop on our drive home was a Waffle House. Waffle House is a staple of the South, and I think the one we went to in Maryland was probably the Northernmost establishment. I have not seen them farther. Sadly, I do not have a picture. We had waffles and hash browns and toast, and the whole bill was only $13.95. How is it so cheap?? I will never know. After considering a dine-n-dash, we paid and continued our trek homeward, having enjoyed all that Maryland can offer in 24 hours.

Bowling

Who has been bowling lately? Anyone? Anyone? Oh wait..ME! Haha, I went bowling today! It was awesome. And because we were playing with a six year old, we got to have bumpers too. So in addition to being fun, we all made pretty good scores. Go us!

Incidentally, six year olds are cute, but then you take them into a store and they decide they HAVE to have EVERything. "Really bad."

In other news, myself and That Guy went down to Baltimore this week to catch an O's game. Pictures to come for that. Of course, they lost. We've never been to an O's game wherein they actually WON. Ehhhhh. Stay tuned.

Comics

A long time ago, I created a comic. It's called "Stewart, Suburban Hero." I guess it is a social commentary or something, but I don't overthink things - I just thought it was funny and had fun drawing it in Photoshop. Here is our first installment, an oldie but goodie straight from my personal archives!
Click for larger images.

Grape Nuts

Here is a nice article on the slow decline of Grape Nuts cereal. I mix it in with yogurt and fruit for parfaits. Or eat it warm with a little sugar. Or cold with a little sugar. I do enjoy the Grape Nuts.

No Grapes, No Nuts, No Market Share: A Venerable Cereal Faces Crunchtime

Carb-less Dinner

Not really.

You know those Pasta Bowls that Domino's advertises? Pasta baked right into a bowl of...bread. Well, they LOOK good in theory, but really, trying something like that from Domino's, you have about 50/50 chance of it being good. For the record: I would try it.

Anyway, my first thought was, "Psh, I could make that." So I did. Please excuse the terrible photo, circumstances were not with me that day.


It's easier than it looks. Just make a simple baked ziti for the middle (sauce and grated cheese), and use canned Pillsbury pizza crust for the bowls. it takes a little work to make it the bowl shape (I made two from one can), but once you place the pasta in and bake, the shape comes through on its own. Bake according to the package, then when theres five mintues left, top it with cheese. I also brushed olive oil on the crust and put a little garlic powder on it.

These were so good. I just hope Domino's doesn't show up at my door and get me for copyright infringement or something.

Chef Central

Has anyone been to the store Chef Central? I got a giftcard for my birthday, so my friend (the one the card came from!) and I went today. It is a plethora of kitchen gadgets and accessories. Picture the kitchen part of Bed Bath and Beyond, and then like double it or so. They had plasticware of every kind, a huge grilling section, as well as sections on specific foods, like sushi making and pasta making, and a gourmet food section.

I had three specific items I needed, the rest would be a free-for-all: an apron, basting brush, and wire cooling rack. I didn't get the apron, because they didn't have one I really liked. But the others I got. I love silicone basting brushes, this one even comes apart to clean it.

With the rest, I found some yummy (looking- I having tried them yet) Huckleberry Fruit Spread and Apple Butter. They are from Oregon Growers and Shippers, whom I had never heard of, but has wonderful-looking fruit and honey spreads. I will try to come up with a good recipe to use them, but the website suggests huckleberry pancakes. That would be good with the Butter Pecan Syrup from there as well! MMMMM

Lastly, there is this guy:

That's right, everything SHOULD taste like bacon. Not sure what I will do with him yet, but I'll keep you posted.

FAQ's

Here at "i do things" we get a lot of questions from readers (no we don't). I will try to answer some of the frequently asked ones here.

Were you named after anyone?
Napoleon Bonaparte

Croutons or bacon bits?
Both

What color is your bedroom carpet?
Beige

What is the first thing you think of when you wake in the morning?
“ANOTHER morning?? Jeez!!”

What do you do most often when you are bored?
Write blog entries noone will read.

What are your favorite TV shows?
MST3K; 30 Minute MST3Ks; CSI: Satellite of Love; E! True Hollywood Story: MST3K; Wife Swap

How many tattoos do you have?
Two

What foods do you dislike?
Seafood, and Liver sandwiches

What kind of car do you drive?
Mini Cooper

Any special talents?
I can recite the entire peasant scene from Holy Grail.

Do you wish on stars?
No, they never did a thing for me, those gassy bastards

What did you want to be when you were little?
A travel agent or hotel manager. I love hotels. Now I do nothing. Hm.

Would you bungee jump?
No

Red or Pink?
Magenta

What is the weather like right now?
Slightly overcast in the living room, sunny in the bedroom. Might rain later in the bathroom.

The last movie you watched in the theater?
Up. It was really good in 3D.

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I hope this clears up any confusion out there. I would like to thank everyone for your continued interest in reading about things, and keep reading for more exciting things in the future!